Parks sa国际传媒 intends to make wireless Internet access available at 50 national parks this year, and to triple that number over the next three years. Soon, it seems, there will be no place beyond the reach of the tentacles of the digital world.
What鈥檚 the point of getting away from it all if you take it all with you?
Parks exist to preserve natural areas and to help us come closer to the natural world. Parks can help us 鈥渃onfront the wild continent not with fear and cupidity but with delight, wonder and awe,鈥� said Wallace Stegner, historian, author and environmentalist, who, though American by birth, bore a love for sa国际传媒 formed as he grew up near the Cypress Hills in Eastend, Sask.
Wi-Fi in parks is not new 鈥� many provincial parks across sa国际传媒 offer some sort of Internet access 鈥� but do we need to ensure that every corner of the country, no matter how remote, is connected? What about the value of disconnecting from the rest of the world while we commune with nature? Already, we are too much captivated by glowing screens, too enthralled by the shadowy digital world. We should look up, feel the sun, listen to the wind in the trees, be amazed and taught by real and living things.
Still, there鈥檚 no doubt it will be convenient to keep in touch with friends and family while vacationing, and to continue using the electronic gadgets that have become so much a part of our lives. Care should be taken, though, that such use does not hinder others鈥� enjoyment of the outdoors.
And don鈥檛 be so busy taking selfies to post on Facebook that you forget to see what鈥檚 around you.
